College football rankings: Ohio State gains, nearly takes No. 1 spot in CBS Sports 130
The Buckeyes were one vote shy of overtaking Alabama for the top spot in our 130-team FBS rankings
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2 min read
While Alabama took over the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 on Sunday, the Crimson Tide have been in that top positions for two weeks in the CBS Sports 130, our comprehensive ranking of every FBS team. If the CBS Sports 130 is going to remain ahead of the curve when it comes to projecting movement in college football rankings, then expect more upward movement for Ohio State should the Buckeyes continue their winning ways.
Ohio State not only took over Clemson's No. 2 spot in the CBS Sports 130, but according to our accounting department, the Buckeyes fell just one vote shy of challenging Alabama for the No. 1 spot. The Tigers fell not only out of the No. 2 spot but all the way down to No. 6 following their 21-20 win at North Carolina. LSU moved up one spot to No. 3 while off in Week 5, followed by Oklahoma at No. 4 and Georgia at No. 5 -- another pair of teams separated by just a single vote.
Michigan was one of several big movers (more on that below), and the bottom of the top 25 features several new arrivals as the list of undefeated teams continues to thin.
College football experts from CBS Sports and 247Sports contribute ballots each week, which are averaged together for our rankings. You can see the top-25 below, and 26-130 on our rankings page.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | 5-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 5-0 | 3 |
| 3 | LSU | 4-0 | 4 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 4-0 | 6 |
| 5 | Georgia | 4-0 | 5 |
| 6 | Clemson | 5-0 | 2 |
| 7 | Wisconsin | 4-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Auburn | 5-0 | 8 |
| 9 | Florida | 5-0 | 9 |
| 10 | Penn State | 4-0 | 12 |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 3-1 | 11 |
| 12 | Texas | 3-1 | 10 |
| 13 | Oregon | 3-1 | 13 |
| 14 | Iowa | 4-0 | 14 |
| 15 | Washington | 4-1 | 18 |
| 16 | Boise State | 4-0 | 16 |
| 17 | Utah | 4-1 | 17 |
| 18 | Michigan | 3-1 | 29 |
| 19 | UCF | 4-1 | 20 |
| 20 | Oklahoma State | 4-1 | 26 |
| 21 | Memphis | 4-0 | 27 |
| 22 | SMU | 5-0 | 24 |
| 23 | Baylor | 4-0 | 38 |
| 24 | Wake Forest | 5-0 | 33 |
| 25 | Appalachian State | 4-0 | 25 |
Biggest movers
- No. 23 Baylor (+15): In securing a home win against Iowa State, Matt Rhule has positioned Baylor to be one of the early surprises in Big 12 play. The Bears have been building to this point, and an 8-4 season (or better) might be in the cards for Rhule, who just secured a new contract extension following the win.
- No. 18 Michigan (+11): Is everything all good now at Michigan? Putting up half-a-hundred against Rutgers made the struggling offense feel good, and the defense added a shutout performance to round out an impressive win that saw our voters slide the Wolverines from outside the top 25 into the top 20.
- No. 26 Virginia (-7): A tough loss at Notre Dame put the Wahoos just outside the top 25, but their fall could be as much a result of getting bumped by teams surging up the rankings with undefeated records like SMU, Baylor, Wake Forest and App State.
- No. 40 Washington State (-9): Mike Leach estimates that his players were negatively impacted by all the good press, but all that good press seems to be fading after a second straight loss for the Cougars. This marks one of the biggest two-week drops that we've seen for any team in the CBS Sports 130 so far this year, down 23 spots from its No. 17 ranking after Week 3.
- No. 35 USC (-14): Few teams have been more volatile in the CBS Sports 130 than the Trojans, who descended more than a dozen spots after losing 28-14 at Washington. USC still has the head-to-head advantage over Utah in the Pac-12 South, but its conference title hopes are slimming after its loss to the Huskies and the Utes win against Washington State.
Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 130: Teams ranked 26-130
